Douglas Lain

Diet Soap - a podcast

Society EN ↓ 100 episodes

The Diet Soap podcast began in 2009 in response to the economic crisis of 2008. Since then it has gone through many transformations, including becoming the podcast for a critical theory imprint out of the UK. Today the Diet Soap podcast is running under its original name for Sublation Media. Sublation Media includes a book publishing effort for critical theory and left politics, a magazine that covers current events and theoretical issues, youtube videos on theory and politics, and finally the Diet Soap podcast. The podcast is where we continue to interrogate the left and each other while havi...

Author

Douglas Lain

Category

Society

Podcast website

www.podomatic.com

Latest episode

Jul 2, 2026

Where to listen?

Podcasts in the app Replaio Radio Coming soon

Podcasts are coming to the app soon. Install now and be the first to see a whole new take on podcasts

Get it on Google Play Install for free Android 5M+ downloads · 4.8 rating iOS soon

Episodes

Episode 673: Trump's Plan for Iran is Rational and Coherent 06.03.2026

Chris Cutrone and Douglas Lain discuss Trump's invasion of Iran as an example of bourgeois politics. Rather than condemning the invasion from the perspective of neoliberalism, they neither condemn nor support but describe.  Support Sublation Media on Patreon https://patreon.com/dietsoap

Episode 672: How To React Without a Left? 02.03.2026

Benjamin Studebaker and Douglas Lain discuss the likely effect of the attacks on Iran. Where will this go next? What motivated the Trump administration? Who will run Iran now?  Support Sublation Media https;//patreon.com/dietsoap

Episode 671: C Wright Mills & Sociology's Problem With Marx 25.02.2026

Join Spencer Leonard and Douglas Lain on "The Spencer Leonard Hour" as they engage in a systematic study of the history of sociology. They explore the intricate relation between sociological imagination and Marxist theory. This discussion offers a clear perspective on the economy through a socialist lens. Support Sublation Media on Patreon https://patreon.com/dietsoap

Episode 670: Why Socialists Should LOVE America 20.02.2026

Chris Cutrone speaks out in defense of the American Revolution as vital to the struggle for socialism. Why Marxists loved America https://www.sublationmag.com/post/why-marxists-loved-america Support Sublation Media https://patreon.com/dietsoap

Episode 669: Try Being Civil? 17.02.2026

Benjamin Studebaker and Douglas Lain discuss the question of civility in politics. What is the purpose of the principle of charity? Is civility a hindrance to politics?  Support Sublation Media https://patreon.com/dietsoap

Episode 668: Noam Chomsky’s reputation will never recover 13.02.2026

Ralph Leonard, freelance writer for Sublation Magazine and the New Statesman among other publications, joins Doug to discuss the career and reputation of Noam Chomsky and discuss his recent article on Chomsky that appeared in the New Statesman: Ralph Leonard on Chomsky in the New Statesmanhttps://www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2026/02/noam-chomskys-reputation-will-never-recover-from-the-epstein-files...

Episode 667: Is Trump Ushering In an AI Dystopia? 06.02.2026

Chris Cutrone discusses how Trump, Elon, International Capital, and Capital itself are ushering in a world littered with personal robots, self-driving cars, AI therapists, and other Kitsch Crap that could easily have been lifted from an old issue of Amazing Stories.  Support Sublation Media: https://patreon.com/dietsoap

Episode 666: Are You ALREADY Dead? 29.01.2026

Danny Mulligan and Douglas Lain discuss Ernest Becker, death anxiety, and modernity in this episode of the Diet Soap Podcast. Support Sublation Media: https://patreon.com/dietsoap

Episode 665: Chris Cutrone on IRAN 23.01.2026

Douglas Lain and Chris Cutrone discuss the uprisings in Iran and their meaning within the history of the left. Support Sublation Media: https://patreon.com/dietsoap

Episode 664: Chris Cutrone on Jared Kushner and Gaza 31.10.2025

Chris Cutrone discusses the recent peace deal in Gaza and how it came about. Doug and Chris discuss a recent 60 Minutes interview with Kushner and Witkoff.  Interview on 60 Minutes: https://youtu.be/dNa6PcU1Ke0?si=IrN7-Gy9XPzaTU0w Support Sublation Media on Patreon: https://patreon.com/dietsoap

Episode 663: Spencer Leonard on Trump's Attacks on the Left 17.10.2025

In this episode of the Spencer Leonard hour Professor Leonard discusses the new executive orders from the Trump administration, orders that specifically target "anti-capitalists" and "antifa." Support Sublation Media on Patreon https://patreon.com/dietsoap

Episode 662: Did Marxism Die With Charlie Kirk? 18.09.2025

In this Spencer Leonard Hour, we discuss how Marxism rose up in the last fifteen years only to fall away again. What destroyed the burgeoning neo-Marxist movement? Support Sublation Media  https://patreon.com/dietsoap

Episode 661: Why We Can't Think About Charlie Kirk 15.09.2025

Benjamin Studebaker and Douglas Lain discuss the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the aftermath. Is America entering into a rerun of the Years of Lead? What was Operation Gladio?  Support Sublation Media https://patreon.com/dietsoap

Episode 660: After Charlie Kirk: a Strategy of Tension? 12.09.2025

Sublation Magazine editor Wyatt Verlen discusses who Charlie Kirk was and why he is beloved on the right. Wyatt left socialism to join the right a few years ago and is making his way back to the left now as he works for Sublation.  Support Sublation Media https://patreon.com/dietsoap

Episode 659: Forming a Socialist Cult, Forming a Socialist Strategy 29.08.2025

Chris Cutrone discusses how socialists should create a movement and party in the United States that will resemble, and potentially even be, a religious cult as it gets started. Support Sublation Media  https://patreon.com/dietsoap

Episode 658: How to Debate a Zoomer "Liberal" 22.08.2025

This is the first half of a podcast Doug recorded with Dillon of the Untrodden podcast. It includes comments from Doug along the way.  Dillon defines himself as a "liberal," but by the end of the conversation, it is clear that he is a product of our authoritarian times and not self-reflective enough yet at the age of 21 to overcome the ideological machinery he's trapped in, even in terms of his ow...

Episode 657: Leftist Theory in Crisis: Wallerstein’s Unfulfilled Transition 15.08.2025

In this episode of the CutroneZone, Chris and Doug revisit "The Age of Transition: Trajectories in the World-System" by Immanuel Wallerstein. They walk through Wallerstein’s forecasts for the year 2025 and examine where World Systems Theory succeeded, where it fell short, and what the failures tell us about the Left’s theoretical models. The Age of Transition by Immanuel Wallerstein: https://www.a...

Episode 656: Finkelstein, Burgis & McManus Misunderstand Marx 08.08.2025

Spencer Leonard responds to a recent episode of Give Them an Argument. Norman Finkelstein, Matt McManus, and Ben Burgis all attempted to defend J.S. Mill from Karl Marx, and in the process demonstrated their failure to understand Marx's criticisms of Mill.  Support Sublation Media https://patreon.com/dietsoap

Episode 655: Why International Law Won't Help Gaza 07.08.2025

Douglas Lain speaks with writer and artist Arturo Desimone, who recently attended the Emergency Conference of the Hague Group on Palestine, held in Bogotá, Colombia, in July 2025. Billed as a bold step by Global South nations to enforce international law and support Palestinian rights, the summit ended with non-binding measures, including calls for an arms embargo and support for ICC/ICJ rulings....

Episode 654: A Call for Socialist Unity 31.07.2025

Chris Cutrone discusses his recent essay in Sublation Magazine entitled "Socialist unity!" Excerpt: The current framework of politics and law in capitalism is severely limited, and geared to other needs: the needs and “rights” of capital. But the workers depend on capital and capitalism: their contradiction must be brought about; for now there is an apparent identity of interests — which capitalis...

Episode 653: The Left is Stuck in a Time Loop with Zohran 25.07.2025

Dan Davison discusses his essay for Sublation Magazine entitled "Stuck in a time loop? Mamdani and the Left’s Amnesia" on this episode of Diet Soap.  Here's an excerpt: Leftists are brimming with joy that Mamdani’s platform has (apparently) shown the world how to build a winning socialist campaign that brings together and highlights the connections between “material” concerns on the one hand and “...

Episode 652: What Musk and Trump Still Have in Common 19.07.2025

Chris Cutrone discusses his recent essay for Compact entitled "What Musk and Trump Still Have in Common." Why did Musk and Trump break up? What can we learn about capitalist politics by asking this question? Is Musk mentally ill? Is Trump sad? Find out. Support Sublation Media on Patreon https://patreon.com/dietsoap

Episode 651: Are We Still Living After the End of History? 17.07.2025

Stanley Sharpey joins Douglas Lain to discuss Francis Fukuyama's 1992 book "The End of History and the Last Man," as well as Fukuyama's attempt to defend and return to this work over the last 33 years.  Support Sublation Media on Patreon https://patreon.com/dietsoap

Episode 650: What is History? 11.07.2025

Spencer Leonard discusses Walter Benjamin's "On the Concept of History" with Douglas Lain. He raises the question, "Can a Marxist be an historian?" Support Sublation Media on Patreon https://patreon.com/dietsoap

Episode 649: Big Beautiful Politics (Same as it Ever Was?) 07.07.2025

Benjamin Studebaker and Douglas Lain discuss Elon Musk's new political party, Trump's Big Beautiful Bill, and Walter Benjamin's On the Concept of History. Support Sublation Media: https://patreon.com/dietsoap

Listen to the Diet Soap - a podcast podcast in Replaio

Radio and podcasts in one app - free, with no sign-up. Install today and do not miss the launch

Get it on Google Play

Replaio is not a podcast publisher; show names, artwork and audio belong to their authors and are distributed through public RSS feeds.